Post-Medieval
The Lake District is rich in stone and minerals. Copper, iron, lead and graphite was mined and transported by packhorse and boat to be traded. The geology of the Borrowdale volcanics is perfect for roofing slates. With the arrival of the railways, granite was quarried for kerbstones and setts.
The area had vital transport routes linked with coastal shipping. Charcoal blast furnaces led to an intensive period of iron making - Cunsey Beck Forge is one example. Rusland Tannery is another example of a local trade.
Some stone walls have origins in the Middle Ages. But in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the open field within the ring garth was gradually subdivided. Intakes appeared on the fells above the ring garth. Farm buildings and walls were made from the local stone. This is why walls and buildings vary from one valley to another.
